The recently launched contest is open to Vietnamese, both at home and abroad, and foreigners. It is divided into various categories, including print media, radio and televised broadcasts, electronic media, press photos, landscape photos, and books.

Entries either in Vietnamese or foreign languages must have been published or broadcast via mass media in Vietnam or in a foreign country from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

Each individual author or group of authors is allowed to submit a maximum of seven works or sets of works.

The annual competition aims to confirm the crucial role of external information services in popularising Vietnamese culture, history and people as well as providing accurate information on the situation in Vietnam, the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and laws, and the country’s standpoints on regional and international issues, according to Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee’s Information and Education Commission Pham Van Linh.

The entries also contribute to refuting and countering fabricated information and false accusations about Vietnam, he said.

The Voice of Vietnam (VOV) is the Standing Agency of the 2016 competition, following two successful events chaired by the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) in 2014 and the Vietnam Television (VTV) in 2015.

The awards aim to encourage journalists and press agencies to take part in external information activities while increasing connectivity and co-ordination among press agencies in the field.

The awarding ceremony is scheduled to take place in Hanoi in May 2017.